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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2008

Toy makers cast their gaze on the future: talking dolls for grannies

Primopuel is a knee-high Japanese doll with soft, apple cheeks and big black button eyes. It comes in green and pink. When you cuddle it or talk to it, it talks back. It is for grandmothers.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 30, 2008

Justices made right call on habeas corpus

Among the commentaries I've read about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the one from George F. Will (The Japan Times, June 24) surprised me. The conservative columnist for The Washington Post upbraided Sen. John McCain for condemning Boumediene v. Bush — which upheld the right of habeas corpus...
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2008

Tokyo: a livable megacity

A recent United Nations Report on World Urbanization found that Tokyo remains the world's largest city. That will come as no surprise to anyone, but London-based magazine Monocle's ranking Tokyo as the third most livable city in the world just might astonish many.
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2008

A new prescription

The government's regulatory reform panel has recently proposed improvements in the screening process for new medicinal products. Currently, most new drugs, even those with approval overseas, can take up to four years to be approved in Japan. Under the new proposal, that screening time will be reduced...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 30, 2008

What gold is telling us about global economy

Look at these numbers: 21, 35 and 1,000. What kind of vital statistics would you say these were? The amount of calories you need to deny yourself to get back into shape? The number needed on your point card to earn the cash back you covet at your local supermarket?
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 29, 2008

Strong 2nd half carries Maori past Japan in Pacific Nations Cup

NAPIER, New Zealand — John Kirwan's squad gave an unexpected first-half scare to the New Zealand Maori at McLean Park on Saturday, as the two teams finished off their Pacific Nations Cup encounter with a final 65-22 victory for the home team.
Reader Mail
Jun 29, 2008

An incentive for sociopaths?

The hangings of three convicted murderers on June 17 could not have been more badly timed. Coming so soon after the deadly rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama clearly intended to send a defiant message that he will not flinch from using the gallows to, as he put it,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 29, 2008

Akihabara killer followed plot mapped by the media

After serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki was hanged on June 17, some death-penalty opponents wondered out loud if Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama had signed the execution order as a response to the indiscriminate murders of seven people on the streets of Akihabara nine days earlier. Of course, Hatoyama didn't...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2008

David Bull: In the wake of Hokusai

From behind his shaggy beard, affable British-born Canadian woodblock printmaker David Bull ended our interview at his studio in western Tokyo with what sounded like a challenge.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 29, 2008

Having faith in traveling

EXCURSIONS IN IDENTITY: Travel and the Intersection of Place, Gender and Status in Edo Japan, by Laura Nenzi. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 267 pp., illustrations IX, $57 (cloth) During Japan's Edo Period (1603-1867), Dr. Laura Nenzi tells us, "physical mobility (traveling along horizontal...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2008

Jero: U.S. enka singer takes Japanese soul by storm

Decked out in his broad-brimmed baseball cap, silver necklace and jeans, the young man stands alone on a black stage. With his voice full of emotion, he begins to sing in Japanese:
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2008

Mitsubishi buys 34% stake in Cima

Mitsubishi Corp., the nation's biggest trading company, bought a 34 percent stake in Houston-based natural gas and oil wholesaler Cima Energy Ltd. to tap demand in the world's biggest energy market.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2008

LDP's future as dicey as Humpty Dumpty's

BRUSSELS — Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been in office less than 12 months, yet polls show popular support for his administration running around 20 percent. Fukuda and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) face a bleak future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2008

'Aruitemo Aruitemo'

Family drama is the default setting of serious Japanese cinema. No matter what genre first brings Japanese directors fame or fortune, be it Sci Fi/fantasy, yakuza epics or horror, they often end up making a family drama, especially if they want to establish their auteurist credentials. The Western used...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2008

Joan of Arc

American label Polyvinyl Records is promoting "Boo Human," the latest effort from the Chicago band Joan of Arc,as their "most accessible, cohesive" work since 1998's "How Memory Works."
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2008

Balancing act across Taiwan Strait

WASHINGTON — So far, events have proven the optimists to be correct. The dialogue between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) has resumed. As the basis, the Taiwan side only pledged adherence to the "1992 consensus," and...
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2008

The real risks from mad cows

The June 21 feature "South Korean Netizens mad over mad cow" wastes a great deal of space detailing the more ridiculous fears of South Koreans while ignoring the very real threat that does exist, not only to Koreans but to Japanese alike.
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2008

Divided Diet on break

The ordinary Diet session ended last week, but an extraordinary session will begin in late August with the Diet as divided as it is now. Despite confusion, the divided Diet produced some desirable results. Based on their experiences in the ordinary Diet session, both the ruling and opposition forces...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 26, 2008

The soul of the samurai on show

Referred to as the soul of the samurai, the Japanese sword is a wonderful blend of elegance and power, artistry and craft.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 25, 2008

All hail capitalism, mendacious destroyer of life on Earth

If you're hoping that the representatives of the world's richest nations meeting in Hokkaido for the G8 Summit next month will take action on climate change, you're in for a disappointment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 25, 2008

Japanese Facebook takes Model T approach

Late last month, as part of a rare work-vacation trip to Asia, Mark Zuckerberg made a quick stop in Tokyo to announce the launch of Facebook Japan.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Jun 22, 2008

Aoshima provides enthusiastic analysis for Japan's hoops fans

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league — Japan's first professional basketball circuit — which wrapped up its third season in May.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2008

Nobel laureate raps Japan for avoiding midterm carbon goal

YOKOHAMA — Japan's reasons for not committing to a medium-term target for cutting carbon emissions are "unfounded," the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change told The Japan Times on Saturday.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan